Would it surprise you to learn Triangle tires probably have been making tires long before you were even born?
Triangle Tires is a mainly mid-tier Chinese tire company that first started producing tires in 1976 with headquarters and its five tire factories in Wei Hai City – Shandong Province of China. Altogether, its tire factories have a 40 million annual production, three-quarters of that designated as passenger car tires.
While they do make car tires, Triangle Tires major strength is in their Off-The-Road and Truck and Bus tire lineup.
Like a handful of larger Chinese tire companies in recent years, Triangle tires has made serious headway establishing a physical presence in the United States. In 2011, Triangle Tire opened a Technical Center in Akron, Ohio, strategically within a stone’s throw of American tire juggernauts like Goodyear, B.F. Goodrich, and, Firestone, whose main purpose is to handle polymer material research development and tire design for the U.S. Market.
In 2015, Triangle Tire USA opened its HQ in Franklin, Tennessee.
And, in 2017, Triangle Tire finalized plans and began construction on a $580 million tire factory in North Carolina, currently under construction. Triangle Tire says they hope to open Phase 1 of 2 for production of car tires by Sept. 2021. but, with the state of the economy, that might be delayed. This production facility will employ 800 workers and have a 6 million tires annual production capacity.
Here’s the latest photo at the site as of Apr. 2019.
Tire lineup
Currently, Triangle has a limited selection of passenger car, SUV, and light truck tires. The current lineup includes,
- TH 201- All-season passenger performance
- TR 967- All season UHP
- TR 968- Summer UHP
You may come across discontinued tires including
- TR 258
- TR 249
- TR 918
- TR 928
- TR 978
Are they any good?
Based on dozens of reviews and what I learned about Triangle Tire company, they are OK tires, at best and would only probably recommend their TH 201 all-season passenger performance tire.
That being said, I give Triangle Tires only five out of 10 stars.
The overall consensus is that Triangle tires are competent in dry weather, but, at the first hint of rain or snow, their UHP performance tires have little to no grip in the wet stuff, an unwanted and dangerous tire characteristic.
The TH 201 seems to be the best of the bunch with decent dry and wet weather performance. Priced around $70 per tire, they are a downright bargain and, if you need four new tires, should be a no-brainer.
Matthew Anderson of New Zealand wrote a decent review on HyperDrive.Co.NZ about the TH 201
Ordered a pair of Triangle Value tires for my daily driver and have been very impressed. They have good tread to disperse water and plenty of grip. Would recommend these highly as a entry level tyre.
The other reviews echoed Matthew, a decent tire for the price.
The worrying reviews were for the TR968.
A reviewer on TyreReviews.Co.UK had this review for a Ford Mondeo ST220 with the TR968s.
Never used the phrase ditchfinders before; however, if there is a tyre worthy of the title these are it. I drive a Mondeo ST220 estate and these tires came with a set of Focus RS 19s I got on eBay. I’ve had the tires on the car for a while now and I cannot stress how bad they are, the only reason they are still on is because I rarely drive the car and virtually never in the wet as it’s a second/project car.
Dry grip, very poor, the car just wants to understeer and if I go near the throttle setting off I get tyre squeal.
Wet grip, what wet grip? These tires are outright dangerous in the wet, they don’t aquaplane too much, but again even with 220bhp I can spin the wheels up in third and it’s a long-geared car. The car just meanders about as it feels. I’ve driven with bald tires that have better wet grip than these things.
On the plus side they have lasted alright (if you can see it as a plus side), as I was hoping they’d wear quicker so I would have an excuse to get them off my car faster.
The reviews were kinder for the TR967. Here’s one from the same site from a CR-V owner who outfitted her son’s 4×4 with the TR967s.
Ideal budget tires, highly recommended if looking for longevity and comfort. Really quiet and reduce fuel consumption by a little. Compound is getting harder overtime and will increase in noise I believe but so far so good.
Conclusion
There’s a good reason Triangle tire has an R&D center in Akron. The American tire consumer is discerning and expects a lot, even from a cheap tire. Triangle Tire is probably perfecting their tire compound as best they can so, when they do start producing tires in the United States, they’ll be as good as or on par with pricier competition.
For the price, you really can’t beat Triangle tires. I’d probably recommend Triangle tires for your daily driver or weekend cruise-around-towner.
I would not recommend Triangle if you expect decent grip at speed. It sounds like their tire technology is not there yet.
If you’re on a budget, yes, get some Triangles. If you can spend a little more, go for a tire one notch up like Nankangs or Hankooks.
But, don’t expect Continental tire-like performance.
